A Wedding, a Rainstorm, and a Box of Donuts
by Dusk to Ashes
Summary: (shounen-ai) Heero's getting married? There's no way! Hang on, just who is he really in love with...?


WARNINGS: Shounen-ai (1+2) and what looks like 1+R... eep...  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~"A Wedding, a Rainstorm, and a Box of Donuts"~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
The year was After Colony 203. It was an unusually sunny April day, and Duo meant to exploit it for all it was worth. He had woken up early, but Quatre had still beaten him to the kitchen. Not that he was complaining; the Arab had been considerate enough to turn on the coffee maker, so the others didn't have to wait. Duo had just poured the milk over his cereal when Heero walked in, looking as blank as always- no, wait.  
*Is that... a smile?!* Duo thought, looking up. Sure enough, Heero Yuy was smiling.  
"Ohayo, Hee-chan!" he greeted his fellow soldier. When there was no reply- not even the typical "Hn," - Duo looked back over at him, smirking.  
"Exactly what were you doing last night, then?" he added, raising an eyebrow in suspicion. Wufei chose that point to march in for his daily dose of caffeine. He was just pouring himself a cup when something on the muted TV caught his eye. Dropping the mug and setting the pot down very quickly, he grabbed the remote and turned the volume up. Quatre, having caught most of the falling liquid, moved to mop up the rest as the newscaster went on.  
"...though Vice Foreign Mininster Darlian has yet to announce a date, we have it on authority that she is, indeed, engaged to be married." Duo grinned even wider at hearing this.  
"That poor guy..." he commented, shaking his head. "I wonder what baka's finally said yes?" He glanced over at Quatre, who had frozen midswipe and was staring blankly at the set. Puzzled, Duo got up out of his seat so he could see what terrible disaster threatened the world, and promptly opened his mouth wide in shock. There, on the screen, were two pictures: one of the smiling, falsely elegant former princess, and the other... the other, a dull personell file image of none other than the half-smiling man next to him, the only one in the room who wasn't frozen.  
Keeping-in character as always, the Braided One whirled around, grinning slyly.  
"So that's it!" he exclaimed, walking over to congratulate his friend, who was busy pulling a box of cereal off the shelf. Despite his constant light demeanor, Duo's mind was in turmoil. So, this was what he got for not out and saying it all these years. He had waited, but too long. In just a night, Heero Yuy, his one and only, had been torn away forever.  
Heero, completely unaware, just nodded. Duo tsked, adding, "Well, what on Earth will the boss say?" Heero decided to ignore the taunts and went back to his breakfast. Trowa walked in, just returning from his morning walk. He strolled towards the sink, pausing only breifly to glance at his neat-as-ever partner and the gradually-coming-back-to-reality Wufei, and washed his hands off before fixing himself a slice of toast. Without looking up from the toaster-oven, he offered, "Congratualtions, Heero."  
Maintaining his silent (apparent) bliss, Heero nodded and continued his breakfast. Duo cleared off the table and slipped out not to the porch, but in the direction of his room. Normally, this would have even Wufei worried, but the news had more or less everyone out of sorts. Eventually Wufei poured himself another cup of coffee, Quatre joined Trowa at the table, and Heero walked out, muttering about pink flowers and grimacing. Duo cursed quietly, but founf himself almost laughing as the tears he'd expected failed to come. Finally, he got up, straightened himself, and headed off to his scrapyard, waving to the others en route to his car.  
About a week later, Heero beat the news to announcing the date, June 26 of that same year. All of the pilots were invited, as well as various acquaintances (including quite a few other fighters from the wars from AC195 to AC 197). Duo cheerfully accepted the position of best man; Lucrezia Noin was the maid of honor. All the mad, complicated preparations expected of a wedding, particularly that of the Vice Foreign Minister and the man that saved the Earth, TWICE, swept everyone up and the weeks flew by.  
On the last day, everyone (with the exception of Trowa) was extremely jumpy. An extra supply of china came in extremely handy, but no-one was seriously injured. The mix of excitement and forboding nearly drove Duo up the wall, but if anyone noticed, they attributed it to his normal hyper state combining with that of the wedding and counted their blessing that nothing else had been broken. Anyone, that is, except Heero. Maybe he was assigning meaning to madness; maybe he was losing his touch. Maybe... but maybe not. He had worked alongside the braided Shinigami for so long, he had learned to find the cracks in his maks, to see the soft, greif-wrent human within, and unless he was indeed out of his mind, something was up.  
He found absolutely no opportunity to ask Duo; it seemed that every time he got close, someone or something intercepted him, almost as though Duo were avoiding him, like he knew Heero was on to him. The normally predictable weather had decided that it needed to rain, but Relena had left no base uncovered, so the wedding would merely be umped inside, to a nearby church.  
*Church,* Heero thought. *Didn't Duo say something...* He tried to think back to a conversation the five of them had had a few days after seeing the shocking news. Someone had brought up something about the way, and Quatre had taken it back even further. Duo had thrown out some story... about growing up in a church! Why, then... but Heero knew the answer. He hadn't asked, and Duo hadn't seen it fit to offer. *So, something's definately up...*  
"Ano, Heero," Quatre prompted him out of his thoughts, a small, understanding smile gracing his face.  
"Gomen nasai..." Heero answered, forcing his thoughts back to the task at hand. It wasn't working, though, and soon he found himself asking aloud, "Where did Duo go?"  
Quatre blinked, vaguely upset at being interrupted (not that he'd ever show it). "I think he said he was going for a walk..." Heero nodded and left the blond staring after him, until Trowa walked up behind him. Quatre turned to answer his question and decided the matter would be settled.  
Duo paced anxiously on the dark sidewalk, the combination of rain, night, and black clothes rendering him as invisible as his late MS. His face didn't even begin to communicate the inner turmoil he was fighting with. *K'so,* he thought, *what the hell am I thinking? I've know for months; why can't I just let go and be happy for them? He knows I'm not okay... Love's some tricky-* His mental abuse was abruptly interrupted by the sound of footsteps. and instantly his Chichiri mask returned.  
"Oi, who's there?" he called in the direction the sound was coming from. He faltered as the familiar visage was revealed by a nearby streetlight.  
"Duo." Heero's tone would have seemed a mere greeting, but if one listened closely, there were inlfections of accusation and questioning mixed with concern interwoven in each careful syllable.  
"That's me; your memory hasn't been affected," he threw back. "What can I do for you?" the soaking wet "braided baka" added as he joined his comrade in the circle of light.  
"No. What's wrong?" Again, there was more than a hint of accusation, making Duo cringe mentally.  
"It's way too tense in there; I'm just trying to relax a little," he returned, with just the right motions and accents to come off as genuine.  
"You can drop the act. There's no-one here." Normally this would have merited redoubled efforts or a sadistical joke at the least, but Duo's energy deserted him.  
All he could manage was a weak, "Damn, am I really that transparent?"  
"Answer me, Duo. What is going on?" Duo just shook his head, refusing. The rain seemed to gain power and volume until the near-silence was unbearable. Finally, Heero turned his back and began to walk away, his jacket's deep blue fading away with the light.  
"Demo, Heero..." Duo murmured, too softly to hear. Of course, Heero heard it and stopped where he was, waiting.  
"Ai shiteiru, Heero..." At these words, Heero froze. He whirled around a second too late, only catching a glimpse of movement at the edge of his vision. He walked slowly back to the house, his mind in shock. At the door, Quatre moved as if to say something, but this time Wufei put a hand on his shoulder and shook his head "no."  
Duo ran, letting his subconscious mind take over. He passed house after house until he found himself downtown, standing in front of a Krispy Kreme. Something inside him broke through the waved of emotion threatening to drown him in the depths of pain, and he stepped inside, his mind absurdly clear. *What's done is done... I guess I'm just not going to get over him, but now... now I know how he feels, at least enough to accept it. Now, what am I doing sad? My... best friend's getting married, and I gotta be there to tease him, give him the support he needs!* With these thoughts, a genuine smile that included his whole face appeared, and he walked up to the counter to get his donuts.  
Heero wasn't as well-off; unlike his optimistic companion, he had no talent for seeing the silver lining and was instead lost in a hazy confusion. He sat on his bed trying to sort out the mess in his head and finally, as though flipping a switch in his head, he reverted to the soldier's mindset that had served so well- really, too well- all those years before. *What is the mission?* he asked himself. *To complete this ceremony,* he answered. *Ninmu ryoukai,* he concluded as hey lay down and instantly fell asleep.  
About an hour later, Duo returned, bearing a box of two dozen assorted donuts and an empty bag (which 'til recently had contained a half-dozen more). He walked through the door with a typical rakish grin on his face, which immediately put the anxious Quatre at ease.  
"Oi, you guys wanna help me with these?" he inquired, indicating the donuts. He set the box on a table in the center of the large kitchen, and as soon as the box was open, three donuts suspiciously vanished. The four of them had an impromptu party, though halfway through one of Duo's many jokes he was abruptly reminded of Heero's absence. He convincingly faked a yawn and excused himself, allegedly to retire for the night. Quatre glanced at the clock and nearly had a heart attack; he, too, apologized and headed for the the bedrooms.  
Letting Quatre pass him in the hall, Duo walked up to Heero'd door and knocked, at first softly, but with risting insistance. Receiving not so much as a "go away," he opened the door slightly and glanced inside. He sighed, seeing the relaxed, sleeping figure, to all appearances at ease. *Well. I guess that's it...* he thought, closing the door and heading for his room. *If he's allright, then so am I. Of course, I'm just as tired...* and with that he slipped into his pajamas, got in bed, pulled up the sheets, and drifted into a mercifully dreamless sleep.  
The next morning, Heero's alarm rang out bright (well, really it was still dark out) and early. His eyes flew open and he dressed silently in the dark, his mind locked up in Perfect Soldier mode. He decided to skip breakfast and headed for the living room, where Quatre, already awake, was on the phone with the caterer making last-second adjustments. The blond smiled and waved, making apologetic gestures toward the phone. Heero nodded grimly, throwing Quatre off. He opted to leave Quatre to work in peace, and failed to notice the look of concern focused on his retreating back.  
As Trowa and Wufei seemed to have things well in hand (and Duo had not yet awakened, or at least hadn't left his room), the ever-efficient killer returned to his room and his laptop. He knew that if he could stay occupied, he wouldn't have a chance to recall the events of the previous evening, and so made work for himself.  
Maybe ten minutes after Heero booted up his computer, the Braided Wonder sat up on the edge of his bed, feet resting on the floor, head in hands. *Well, here goes everything!* He, unfortunately, had a crystal clear memory of the night before. Finally, he stood up and walked over to his mirror to rebraid his wavy-from-the-rain hair. A few short moments later, the smartly-dressed Shinigami headed for the kitchen and to breakfast, not so much as blinking as he passed Heero's door.  
In relative minutes, Trowa rapped gently on the door in question, giving the seemingly busy groom his fifteen-minute warning. After around ten final checkovers, the five piled into one of Quatre's many cars, Trowa at the wheel. Little was said on the trip, as Wufei had insisted the overly helpful Mr. Winner leave his cellular phone in the house.  
Having to struggle through the enourmous amount of traffic, much of which shared their destination, did not help the quintet's time of arrival. In fact, even after Duo's chance spotting of a parking space, they were indeed lucky to be only ten minutes late. Somehow they all slid into their appropriate positions, and the procession began. The flower girl looked oddly familiar, but Heero couldn't place her until he overheard someone in the audience (as it all seemed like a play) mention Milliardo and Noin, reminding him of their daughter, whom Relena had shown him a picture of before. Bridesmaid after bridesmaid walked along the aisle, and though Heero recognized many of them (there was Mariemaea, that must be on of Quatre's sisters... Jill, wasn't it?), he found himself "spacing out."  
Then suddenly, it all stopped. Heero, knowing only a little of weddings in this religion, glanced around quickly, but soon he got his answer as Relena walked out, wearing an extremely lengthy white dress, which somehow made him think Dorothy had had some say in the design, bearing flowers, and crying. As she proceeded, defying all laws by not tripping, he noted to his horror that the bride-to-be wasn't the only one crying; most of those present were... and, as he looked very closely, that included Duo. Despite his valiant attempts at denial, Heero knew those tears were not in joy. He then turned to Relena as she reached the stairs, helping her up, and then faced the preist, who began reciting his part.  
After ages of meaningless (to him) religious babble, he recognized his part and returned with an "I do," in the precise tone he used for accomplished missions. It was then, as the revered asked for any reasons the two should not wed, that Duo's last bit of reserve broke. Mercifully, no-one noticed the new river flowing down the devastated boy's eyes, yet without even looking Heero sensed, he knew exactly what was happeneing, and something inside him, a great, monstrous wall that had been built upon for some twenty-three years, broke, too.  
He didn't hear the shocked gasps, didn't see Relena's tears change emoitions, didn't see the looks of rage Noin sent him, didn't even hear his own voice, saying, for once, exactly what he felt; all Heero heard was a different sort of shocked gasp, all he saw was the questioning look Duo sent him. In the very back of his mind, a voice whispered "Ninmu kanryou," before finally, after years of weakening, dying out. Heero had no need for his soldier's skills, that frame of mind; he saw that even after the wars had ended, he had been hanging on, but now, this time, he would let go.  
"Duo..." he satarted, enjoying the sight of hope lighting up the teary-eyed face.  
"N-nani?" Duo managed to reply, not daring to believe.  
"Koi shiteiru, Duo. Zutto." In no condition to do anything, the rejoicing young man flew forward into a powerful glomp that Heero found the strength to return. Reporters were everywhere, alternating between trying to fight their way past Noin, who seemed on the verge of murdering someone, to get to Relena and trying to get some comment out of the embracing couple. Needless to say, pictures were what told the tale that appeared on screens around the world.  
Heero knew, somewhere, that what he had just done went way beyond rude, just as Duo knew that he'd be lucky if Relena or the millions of people that supposted her didn't kill him. They both knew, but at that moment, a time in which each could live forever, the only thing they could care about was each other.  
~The End~  
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Well. I don't believe it; I FINISHED a fic within like a day and a half of starting it. Not only that, but it's a shounen ai fic [my first indication that I so much as knew about yaoi to the public...] (and just as we all thought I was twisted enough)! Stranger still, I'm happy with it! Perhaps I'm a hopelessly shoujo romantic after all... eem.  
~Neko4~  
Kouijisama@hotmail.com  
And if you don't comment, I'll sic Hee-chan on you!  
Hee-chan: Hn. Omae o korosu. Now let go of me.  
::continues glomp:: ^_^ 


End file.
